Second hand vinyl - are prices for classic rock going up, down or flatlining?

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by back2vinyl, May 27, 2018.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. MrSka57

    MrSka57 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Syracuse, New York
    My conscience wouldn't let me 'sell' an LP I picked up for $1 for more than time and gasoline to someone who really
    wanted/needed it (unless it was a Butcher or a Freewheelin' Dylan promo, natch).
     
  2. Uglyversal

    Uglyversal Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sydney
    You are talking about postage, right?
     
    nosliw, Fender Relic and eddiel like this.
  3. Fender Relic

    Fender Relic Forum Resident

    Location:
    PennsylBama
    There's a big vinyl sale in my region this week with most items $1 but it'll be $30 in gas round trip, 4-5 hrs. car time, etc..Most records are good shape but mostly common Rock,Pop,etc..Probably a great opportunity for folks just starting out with vinyl or resellers but I'm not motivated enough right now to make the effort. 30,000+ records though :yikes:
     
    lazydawg58 likes this.
  4. MrSka57

    MrSka57 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Syracuse, New York
    Instead of the Lysol wipes, spray a good brand (Pledge) of dusting stuff onto a clean microfiber cloth and gently
    rub the cover - shiny happy cardboard! You can also remove a fair amount of black-on-white ring wear, too.
    Practice on a couple of duds first. Rubbing too hard can cause tears/rips/discoloration.
     
    Fender Relic and eddiel like this.
  5. eddiel

    eddiel Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    I bet almost every one of those conversations includes something along the lines of "Yeah I got some Beatles and Michael Jackson's Thriller" :)
     
    vinylbeat likes this.
  6. eddiel

    eddiel Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    By dusting stuff do you mean Pledge furniture polish type stuff or Pledge multi surface cleaner type?

    The Lysol wipes can be quite damp so you need to be careful.
     
  7. MrSka57

    MrSka57 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Syracuse, New York
    Furniture polish stuff; it really picks up the grime but a mf cloth is a must.
     
    eddiel likes this.
  8. slop101

    slop101 Guitar Geek

    Location:
    So. Cal.
    Hmm... sounds like a bubble getting ready to pop.
     
  9. Mister President

    Mister President Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    Recently tested this out when I needed a replacement copy of Sticky Fingers, 1st UK Press (My first one got stolen).

    In the records shops of London these would go for about £50-60, which I thought was rather high, nowhere near Pink Floyd DSOTM which I've seen for £200, maybe that was a super rare 1st press. Online like discogs was always all over the place, reaching £100 or more.

    I did find one very recently in super shape for £40, offered £30 and was accepted. Arrived yesterday and very happy with it. The seller was selling lots of 70's vinyl so maybe someone had died or they just wanted rid of their collection.

    I felt the time was now or never in buying this type of album - these 70's albums seem to be getting rarer to me. I''m thankful my mum gave me her Pink Floyd and Led Zepplin albums.
     
  10. Bill Hart

    Bill Hart Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin
    I can walk to Waterloo Records in downtown Austin and buy used vinyl, some in what appears to be unplayed condition, all day, every day, for $4.99-18.99 or so. It's nothing I want--later pressings, 2nd rate bands of little interest or well known bands past their peak. Sure, there will be big name acts among them, but: they aren't the pressings or albums I'd buy and I already own those.
    For most, not all the records I've been chasing for the last dozen years or so, the prices range from inflated to 'you've got to be kidding,' the grading almost has nothing to do with the actual record (although I'll find sellers with scruples who are meticulous) and copies of some things aren't even on the market. Even the reissues are expensive if they have been reissued, and are themselves often out of print.
    None of the records I'm chasing are in any of the B&M stores here-in fact, it's rare to find old UK or European pressings in Austin, mostly all US pressed records (which is fine for certain albums and bands).
    I'm not out there chasing records every day. A friend, whose business is selling new and reissued hard/pysch and prog rock online, spends every day running his business, and virtually all of his 'off-hours' record shopping for himself (He's not reselling the used records- those are for him or his friends). He usually finds 30 or so records a week in stores outside of the Philly metro area. 99% of it is stuff I've never heard, or heard of--all offbeat, obscure, with the occasional recognizable album ( a lot of this is avant-garde jazz or obscure prog). He'll find a few bargains, but this is a guy who probably spends more time around records than anybody (including those that own or work in record shops), and he complains about the prices on most of the stuff too, relying on Discogs and E-Bay as much as I do.
     
    Last edited: Jul 12, 2018
    enfield likes this.
  11. Giorgio

    Giorgio Forum Resident

    Location:
    Varese Italy
    I bought really few albums here in Italy that are part of my collection, and as I said, for the titles/pressings I'm looking for, to me it's cheaper to buy abroad, so I understand what you mean.
    But I buy almost exclusively in the US or UK, online, I have not experience in hunting "on the road" in other European countries, so I'm not able to do comparison with Italy...
     
  12. vinylbeat

    vinylbeat Forum Resident

    He gets a lot of those calls, but it's the worthless dead grandparents EZ listening collections that get to be difficult to deal with day in day out. There's still a ton of those records out there, even though you'd think the land fills would have claimed all of em' by now!
     
    eddiel likes this.
  13. Giorgio

    Giorgio Forum Resident

    Location:
    Varese Italy
    From my experience...
    Ten year ago (2008) I bought from a US seller (by Ebay) TWO (N°2) LP copies of the original 1987 GUNS N'ROSES "APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION" RAPE COVER with sticker, both still sealed.
    Total price = $90 + $21 for shipping.

    Eight years later (2016), I contacted this seller again in order to know if he had still available sealed copies of this album...
    The answer was:" yes, we still have some copies, if you are interested the price is $235 (EACH !!!) + $24 for the shipping".

    So...
     
    Last edited: Jul 12, 2018
    uzn007 and MaestroDavros like this.
  14. Mister President

    Mister President Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    I buy a lot of funk/soul vinyl from the 70's...frustrating to see how cheap a lot of it is in the USA. Many I can't even find in the U.K anywhere, most didn't have U.K pressings. Those can be expensive, but thankfully not a lot of younger seem to care about these artists so prices aren't going up.
     
  15. Mister President

    Mister President Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    Is a second press (?) of Bowie's Heroes (green label, 1980) worth the £30 I saw it for?

    Nope.
     
  16. NapalmBrain

    NapalmBrain Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kansas City, MO
    David Bowie - "Heroes" (Vinyl) For Sale at Discogs Marketplace

    according to average sale prices in decent shape that's about spot on these days, demand for rock records is at an all time high so lots of previously cheap records are no longer cheap, I'm constantly surprised at what price common records at demanding now
     
  17. slop101

    slop101 Guitar Geek

    Location:
    So. Cal.
    That zipper on the Sticky Fingers LP ruins whatever record is in front of it!
     
    ohnothimagen likes this.
  18. seed_drill

    seed_drill Senior Member

    Location:
    Tryon, NC, USA
    Only if you sell it yourself. Shops don't necessarily pay more just because they can get more.
     
  19. lazydawg58

    lazydawg58 Know enough to know how much I don't know

    Location:
    Lillington NC
    How are prices for 60s Soul records? I just completed a three stage purchase of 83 albums from a lady down the street. Her husband had intended to DJ parties many years ago and purchased them in bulk, maybe 40 years ago. He got sick soon after so the records just sat there in boxes. They are in good shape, VG+ to VG but tend to be lesser known artists. She had been online and seeing $20-$30 prices on several of them. I told her realistically these were $3-$5 records after they had been cleaned up, replacement inner & outer sleeves, etc. I bought 17 she had left at a thrift store for $20 and she called me up to take a look at the rest. There were about 120 left and we couldn't agree on a price, so I pulled out 18 that I wanted for my never sell collection (Impressions, Percy Sledge, Edwin Starr) and offered $40 which she took. Today I called her back and offered her $115 for the remaining 90, finally we settled on me picking out about half of them (48) for $65. So she ultimately got $125 and has about 40 records left. Of course I picked out what in my view were the best records and after all was said and done paid $1.51 a record. So if I ever try and sell them, not going to sell online, I'll have about $2 per record invested.

    Is there much demand for these?
     
  20. e.s.

    e.s. Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    That's why you put a piece of cardboard backing in-between that and Exile!
     
  21. dkurtis

    dkurtis sonoftheFather

    I put mine in a thin, record shipping box for that very reason.
     
    e.s. likes this.
  22. radickeyfan

    radickeyfan Forum Resident

    these are huge in the North East ...a few stores i shop in , are selling more R&B/Soul/Rap then they are Rock ...all depends on the client base of the store
     
    lazydawg58 likes this.
  23. hominy

    hominy Digital Drifter

    Location:
    Seattle-ish
    I just got back from a expedition to Canada and toured some record stores in Edmonton/Calgary. All I can say for prices is... :yikes::yikes::yikes: Epic selection at some of these places though, since thrift stores are largely a waste of time if you don't live there. $20 seems to be the average price for VG+ used stuff and even the dollar bins aren't a dollar! Guess they can thank US for that...
     
    lazydawg58 likes this.
  24. lazydawg58

    lazydawg58 Know enough to know how much I don't know

    Location:
    Lillington NC
    I've pretty much come to the conclusion that used record stores are just for those records you want to fill in holes in your collection, not for general record shopping. I'm looking for a better condition copy of Laid Back and a copy of Steal Your Face. For random records that I didn't know I wanted until I see it I'm going to stick to the thrift stores, personal collections, and antique shops.
     
  25. efegarcia

    efegarcia Forum Resident

    Location:
    Barcelona,Spain
    today...international record fair here in Barcelona,Spain...the first in many..many years that I returned home without nothing because the prices of the records....

    :rolleyes::rolleyes:
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine